Mob attacks police in Bihar after councillor’s husband is shot dead

A crowd of angry villagers clashed with police, vandalised official vehicles, and set fire to a suspect’s home in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district on Saturday, following the close-range shooting of a local politician’s husband.

Baidyanath Mahto, whose wife Khushdil Devi is the municipal councillor for Ward 13, was shot dead during his morning walk in Kaitharia village at around 6.30 am. Attackers fired at him from close range, hitting him eight times in the head and body. He died at the scene.

As news of the killing spread, a large crowd of residents gathered to protest against what they described as systemic police negligence. The demonstration quickly turned violent. Protesters blocked local roads and threw stones at responding police teams, injuring at least four personnel, including two inspectors who sustained severe head injuries.

The mob turned on official vehicles, including those belonging to the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police, overturning at least one police vehicle. A section of the crowd also marched to the home of a local suspect, Mohammed Ejaz Ahmed, and set it on fire. Ahmed managed to flee before the mob arrived.

Why the villagers are angry

Local residents said the murder was entirely preventable. On 29 August, Mahto had registered a formal complaint at the Dumra Police Station against three men—Tribhuvan Kumar, Mohammed Ejaz Ahmed, and Mohammed Ehsan Ahmed—after they allegedly shot at him in an earlier attempt on his life.

Villagers claimed that local police failed to take the threat seriously or arrest the suspects. They believe Mahto was targeted by the local liquor mafia because he regularly campaigned against their activities in the area.

The official response

Following the outbreak of violence, Sitamarhi Superintendent of Police Amit Ranjan suspended the Dumra Station House Officer, Mukesh Kumar, alongside the case's investigating officer, citing negligence in their duties.

However, the Superintendent's office defended its wider response to Mahto's initial complaint, stating that one suspect had already surrendered to the court following the August incident, and that officers were actively seeking arrest warrants for the others.

Forensic investigators have since swept the crime scene, and officers are reviewing footage from local CCTV cameras to identify the shooters. Extra magistrates and police personnel have been deployed to Kaitharia village to maintain order. According to the Superintendent of Police, the area is now peaceful and under control.